Never Ending Game
by PatchPatch123
Summary: Tai and her friends are trying to disband the viscious Black Birds.
1. Introductions!

Diclaimer: I do not own .Hack or any of it's characters. I do, however, own MY CHARACTERS! So please ask before using them!

Thank you for your consideration!

:Eternal Sunshine:

Chapter one: Introductions!

Running across the city, Tai managed to dodge many of the people in her way. It didn't matter if she ran into a few. She could handle angry emails. This was The World, after all. No one actually knew her, accept Mya. They went to school together. But Mya was the only one who knew The Real Tyler Kinomoto. _Thank god for that.._she thought, running faster. She had to beat them...So close..

"SURPRISE!"

_Huh..?_

That was her last coherent thought before being thrown into the river. Swimming upwards, she surfaced, sputtering water. Her friends Effie, Mya, and Sirena were at the edge of the bridge, laughing at her. Tai glared and swam to the edge, pushing herself up and out of the water. Mya held out a hand to help her up.

"Sorry. Effie couldn't resist. You know how horrible she is at playing hide and seek!" Mya laughed, trying to sincerly apologize, yet not succeeding.

Tai glared and dramatically squirted water from her mouth. She shook her head, raining them all with drops of water from her long, violet hair. She'd always wanted purple hair, but her mother wouldn't let her dye it. So when she created her character for the world, she instantly chose purple. Effie had a cheat code to change hair color, so if Tai or the other ever got bored, all they had to do was email Effie. But Tai loved her hair.

Sirena squealed and tried to hide behind Mya, who was drenched from the spray. The sight was comical, because Sirena was the tallest of them there. Mya, even though she was average height, still looked dwarfened compaired to Sirena. It was quite pityful. Sirena's golden hair reined around Mya, who's black hair was hidden beneath the cuirtain. Her bright blue eyes stood out however. Effie was short, which was typical, since she was only 12 in the real world. Her hair was short and a reddish pink. Her eyes were a crystal blue, which was what usually caught everyone's attention. Well, that and the pouty expression she always wore. Sirena's attention getter was her long golden hair. Mya had attitude. Tai wasn't sure how she fit into this group, or Zane's for that matter. They just kind of accepted her. Tai used to be a loner. Even in the real world, she had no friends until Myana Tomoyo moved to Japan. That was when everything changed..

Mya reached over and poked Tai's cheek. Tai blinked at stared wide-eyed at Mya.

Mya giggled, "C'mon! We're gonna go find Derrin. He's probably still hiding!"

Tai smirked and ran across the bridge, "I'll beat you to him!"

Sirena started laughing, Effie was giggling, "Wait! Your going the wrong way!"

Tai froze in mid-stride, then tripped. She was about to go face-first right into the brick wall until two big arms wrapped themselves about her.

"Be careful, now..." whispered a hot breathe against her ear.

The mystery savior held her tightly, as if hugging her. Tai blinked and twisted to look up at the man, but he was wearing a hunter-green cape, so she couldn't look at his face. He set her down and stepped away, as if uncertain. He suddenly reached over a gently flicked her nose.

"Stay out of trouble now.." and with that he was off.

Tai stood frozen to the spot. Her eyes were glued to where he had once been. _Who the hell was he..?_

The world finally came back to her quickly, thanks to Mya's incredible flying shoe that hit her square in the head. Mya laughed at her and put her shoe back on. Tai scrunched up her face in thought, the sighed, looking up at the sky.

"Sorry about that, but you were zoning out on us again. You ok..? Who was that guy? Is he for real..?"

Mya continued to ask questions, but Tai blocked her voice out of her head. She wasn't in the mood for questions. She finally decided that pondering on the man wouldn't bring him back. She smirked, then clapped her hands together.

"Righty-o! We've got to find Derrin, member! Let's hop to it!"

She ran in the other direction, the right one this time. The others gazed after her. Effie hopped up onto the bridge railing to see if her gaze would go further, but without such luck. She started to pout and Sirena patted her head absentmindedly.

"What's gotten into her?" Demanded an impatient Mya.


	2. How we met

Disclaimer: I do not own .Hack or any of it's characters. I do, however, own My Characters, and you should most likely ask before using them, please. Thank you.

:Eternal Sunshine:

Chapter 2: How did we meet?

Mya finally caught up with Tai, but she left Effie and Sirena by themselves. She told them she needed to talk to Tai alone. They understood. They knew the bond between Mai and Tai and even though they didn't understand it, they respected it. Mya was panting by the time her and Tai stopped running. Tai was looking at the ground, not speaking. Mya glared at her and slammed her into the brickwall of the alley they were in.

"Just what is your problem!"

"Nothing. I don't know what your talking about. I'm perfectly fine today."

"That wasn't what I meant, and you know it. You've been acting weird lately. You haven't showed up for school, your ignoring emails. Zane wrote me, _me,_ and was worried about you. You haven't talked to any of them since the contest, have you? Answer me!"

Tai averted her gaze. She knew perfectly well what Mya was talking about. And in truth, she hadn't spoken to Zane, or Jezza, and Ryu, or any of them. Since the ice contest, she'd blocked out most people. Mya slapped her hard on the cheek.

"Answer me, dammit!"

"No, I haven't spoken to any of them. I barely even talk to you guys.."

"Yea, we've noticed! Whether you like it or not, we care about you. What's wrong?"

Tears made tracks down Tai's cheeks. Mya was her best friend, and in the darkest hours, her only friend.

"The night of the ice festival was the night my brother came home. He's been away at college. And...I've been spending time with him. He won't speak to my mom. He blames her for dad walking out. So it's been constant fights..I'm sorry, I didn't mean to block you guys out. I just...needed time for myself.."

Mya let her go and smiled, "Hey Kiddo, we're here for you, forever and always. I don't want you to go back into that black hole again."

Tai smirked. Mya knew Tai's secrets. Mya knew that Tai had once been a nobody, and now she was popular and loved. All because of Mya. And now because of everyone else. Tai had introduced Mya to The World, but they both went together into it. Tai had learned to make friends, and eventually Mya wasn't around as much. But Mya was always around enough to be like a sister.

Tai lept away from the wall and started to walk back, "The others are probably freaking out. We might wanna go find them!"

Mya laughed and chased after her.

Tai turned the corner tightly and smacked right into Sirena. Mya came shortly after and tripped over them both.

"Oww..."

"What do you mean, "Oww" ! I was the one that was trampled!"

Tai heard effie laugh, and then arms were around her middle, picking her up and setting her right. She blinked, and smiled up at her savior.

"Hello Ryu. Long time, no see."

"Hmm...only because you don't answer my call. Effie messaged me and told me to come. You alright?"

Tai patted the dirt from her clothes and pushed her hair back.

"Yea, I suppose. Everything's alright now. I'll explain later. I suppose your gonna tell Zane and them you saw me?"

"Obviously. They all are worried about you. We haven't seen or heard from you in months."

"Hm..Well, tell Zane to email me and I'll send him something of value."

"What would that be?"

"Her phone number, " remarked Mya quietly.

Tai blushed and glanced at the ground. Ryu sighed.

"Well how come I can't have your number? Your 17, right? Therefore..."

"Don't flirt, you sound pityful," laughed Mya.

Ryu glared and stepped back to teleport, "Fine, I'll tell him.." and then he was gone.

Mya wrapped her arm around Tai's neck. A crash was heard, and Derrin crashed into Sirena.

"OH COME ON! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Derrin stared at Serina as she continued to rant. He had black hair, medium length. It went into his saphire blue eyes. He looked daring. He was only 19. Tai was 17, same as Mya. Serina was 15, and Effie was 12, but she was exceptionally smart, which was why they liked having her around. She was fun to be with, too.

Effie lept off of the bin she was sitting on and helped him up. He smiled flirtingly at her. He'd never actually hit on Effie, since she was too young for him, but since she had a crush on him, he was always being nice to her. Effie blushed and mumbled her words, stepping back to let Sirena up. Derrin looked up at Tai and Mya, smiling at them. Mya raised an eyebrow teasingly.

"You finally came out of hiding?"

"Yea. Didn't want any of you to worry," he said, winking at her.

Tai gained at blank look, which meant she was either getting a message, or she was sending one. Mya looked at her.

"Did you send him your phone number?" she said mockingly.

Derrin obtained a serious expression, "Gave who your phone number?"

Tai blushed, "No one! It was a message from my mom..I gotta go."

Effie waved frantically, hopping up and down, "Okay, I'll email you incase I get anymore rare items!"

Sirena smiled, "I'll email as well."

Derrin was glaring at her, and he just waved and turned around.

Mya laughed at him and looked back at Tai, "I'll call you later, ok?"

"Ok!" Tai stepped back and exited the game.


	3. You found me!

Disclaimer: I do not own .Hack or any of the characters. I do, however, own the characters I created. If you wish to use a character, please ask.

:Eternal Sunshine:

Chapter 3: You found me!

In the real world, Tyler Kinomoto had long blonde hair, like Sirena's. Her lavender eyes were also magnificent, and always drew attention. Except when she was a nobody. Myana Tomoyo actually had black hair, but it was short. Her blue eyes were crystal clear, and quite beautiful. Mya radiated with happiness most of the time. The only time she was sad was when Tai was sad.

In the real world, Tai had an older brother, a mother and a kitten. Her older brother, Touya, was usually away at college. He rarely visited, since he hated his mother. But he always found a way to send something to Tai or come and see her. He adored his little sister, and would do anything to be around her. He wanted to protect her from the world. Mya always teased Tai that he should be protecting the world from her.

Tai was extremely clumsy. She always messed up her words. Or, at least, the old Tai did. The new Tai that had friends was still clumsy, and usually only messed up her words around boys. She was always messing up around boys.

She had just had dinner and was lying on her bed, waiting for Mya to call. Her life was ever so boring. She had a job and friends, but she never really did anything..

Her phone rang loudly. Tai was taken by surprise and jumped, which caused her to fall off the bed.

"Oww.." she said, rubbing her head. The phone rang again, and she crawled over to it and picked it up.

"H-hello..?" she answered, still muddled from the fall.

_"Hello, does Tyler Kinomoto live here?"_

"This is her.." she said, instantly getting depressed. This couldn't be good.

_"Heya Kiddo."_

Tai blinked. _Who in the world..?_ she thought. She rubbed her head, then stopped. Her eyes snapped open. _Is it..?_

"Zane?"

_"Good guess. Took you forever. But that's a usual thing, huh?"_

_Definatly Zane.._

"Leave me alone. I can't think right now.."

There was a pause on the other end. She bit her lip. _Please don't let him read more into that..._ She smacked her forehead soundly. She could hear Touya and her mom yelling again. She kicked the door closed.

"_Family problems?"_

Tai glanced around her room, then layed on her back. Her cell phone jingled, meaning she got a text. She didn't want to look at it, but it wouldn't shut up. She finally looked at it, then chucked it across the room. Touya wanted her to go outside. _He couldn't just knock on my door and tell me to leave..?_

_"You still there, kiddo?"_

Tai got suddenly mad, "I'm not a kid, y'know!"

_"I know. I just like to tease. It's obvious your not a kid."_

Tai blinked and gazed at her cieling, "How is it obvious?"

_"How you act..How your..uh..d-developed.."_

Tai blushed, then groaned. Apparenly Zane heard this, cause he laughed. Tai rolled her eyes. She could hear her cell phone going nuts.

_"What's up with your phone?"_

"Nothing. My brother wants me out of the house. And instead of walking the 2 feet to knock on my door and politely ask me to go out somewhere, he texts my phone 900 times," she said, sighing and rolling her eyes.

_"Heh. You never told me you had a brother.."_

"Hm..well..we haven't spoken in..what..four months?"

_"True..We really need to catch up, huh, love?"_

Tai smiled. She hated the endearment, unless he used it. She'd had a crush on him since he saved her character from extinction. She had almost died and lost the game because some knight character decided to pick on her. It was in Amai city, and she had been a newbie. Mya and her had gotten seperated, and Tai was asking for directions, when she happened to ask the wrong person. The guy grabbed her, and was harrassing her. The he attacked her. Zane jumped off the bridge and rescued her, deleting the guy from the game. That was the day they met..And that was the day he gained her trust and love..

"Mm..yea. I guess we do..Where to start--"

She was cut off because Touya bursted into her room just then. He looked really mad too.

"I know you got my messages!"

Tai rolled her eyes, "Yea, but the real question is, did I want to listen to them?"

Zane was laughing over the phone. Apparently this was great entertainment.

"Get outta here! I don't want you listening to mom bicker. It'll warp your mind!"

"Oo..I'm oh so scared. Touya, grow up. I've heard you yell twice as much as her. So therefore don't pin it on mom. I'll go in just a minute. Give me one minute, ok?"

"I'm timing.." he growled before slamming her door shut.

_"So that's big brother, huh?"_

"Yea..He's much sweeter once you get to know him..Well, he wouldn't be sweet to you."

_"Why is that?"_

"He thinks every guy wants to date me. So he'd think you were after me too."

_"And who says I'm not?"_

Tai was shocked. He'd never once said anything like that to her. He'd never flirted. Sure, he got annoyed when other flirted, but that was because he couldn't stand guys being annoying. But..

_"Well, it's been a minute. I'll email you with the happenings of the past four months..Think about what I just said, alright? 'Cause, I'd hate to lose you to someone like Ryu. G'night." _and with that he hung up.

Tai dropped the phone back into it's cradle. She was still shocked. She ran and got her cell phone and dialed.

"_Mya here._"

"He likes me."

_"Who?"_

"Zane.."


	4. Fast Footed

Disclaimer: I do not own .Hack or any of their characters. I do own my characters and plot, and if you wish to borrow them, please ask.

:Eternal Sunshine:

Chapter 4:Fast footed

Sirena hopped about, Effie following in suit. Mya and Tai walked behind them, wondering how they did it. Tai had a smirk upon her face. Mya folded her arms over her chest.

"Don't even try it. You know know you'd fall on your ass and you'd cry about it," she mumbled.

Tai was watching curiously, "That's not the point, though. The point is that it looks fun.."

"And it is!" yelled Effie.

Tai shrugged and chased after them, dodging the citizens in Airo City, of the World. Sirena laughed, running after Tai as she passed them. Effie chased as well, though not having a clue as to why. Sirena and Tai raced to nowhere, laughing and tripping, trying to keep up with one another. Suddenly Sirena smacked into someone. That someone wasn't overly friendly.

"Hey! Watch it, kid!"

Tai stopped and went to help Sirena up, "She's more of an adult than you, since she kept her temper, so don't call her kid," she muttered.

A fist grabbed Tai's shirt and lifted her off the ground. Tai whimpered. _BIIIIIIIIG GUY.._she thought. Sirena screamed. Effie and Mya walked up. Mya confronted the man.

"Hey! What's you're problem!"

"Seems the little missy here needs to learn to keep her mouth shut."

Tai started to panick. She looked about for any means of escape, but that wasn't possible when this ogre had her. Tai whimpered, silently saying thousands upon thousands of prayers.

"Oi, pretty little thing isn't she..might be worth my time to teach her a lesson.."

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Effie and Mya were now throwing things at him. He wasn't paying any attention to them. His grip tightened on Tai, bringing her closer. She tried to kick the guy, missing the first time. On the second try, she succeeded, causing him to drop her. Mya grabbed her arm, Effie and Sirena already running. Tai bolted down the street. She was crossing the bridge when she noticed that the guy was catching up. He passed Mya, which meant that he was after her, and only her. Tai pounded her feet, dodging people left and right.

"Run, Tai, run!"

Tai was instantly angry, _What do they think I'm doing..?_ She ran as fast as her legs would allow her to, gaining more speed. The guy was catching up however.

She turned a corner, and ran directly into open arms. Ryu fell over, holding her tightly.

"See? I knew you'd fall into my arms!"

"Ryu...no..time..for...games..." Tai gasped, getting up and noticing that Zane's entire crew was in front of her, even Zane himself.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Ryu, standing.

Just then the big guy rounded the corner and was running right at her. Tai bolted down the ally.

"Is he a good enough answer!" she yelled, leaving them behind. She kept running until she was hiding in an abandoned house used for storage. She was gasping for air. She hid for almost two hours before she felt safe enough to come out and look for Sirena, Effie and Mya. It was nightfall and streetlamps were lit everywhere. She was just crossing a bridge when Derrin ran up to her.

"We've been looking everywhere for you! We thought you might have logged out, but you're status said online, so Mya posted a wanted on the message board."

Tai smiled and walked with him, "Sorry. Some guy was after me, so I went and hid, cause his level was, like, thrice mine."

Derrin smirked and flicked her nose, "Heh, I would have taken care of him for you. But Zane beat me to it. That guy won't be bothering you again."

"How come?"

"Cause I deleted him from the game," replied Zane, hopping down from a stoop.

Tai blushed upon seeing him, remembering their conversation yesterday. Then she smiled, "Thanks. He was being rude to Sirena, and when I stood up for her, he exploded and attacked me."

"Yea, I know. Rimi saw the whole thing, and told us to come to the city immidiatly."

Tai blushed further, "I had it under control!"

Derrin laughed a poked her forehead, "Hmm..maybe, but running isn't a solution. C'mon, I'll walk you to a save point."

Tai smiled and walked with him. She turned to wave at Zane, but found him murderously glaring at Derrin. She blushed, and he winked at her before turning and leaving.


	5. Confusion

Disclaimer: I do not own .hack or any of their characters. I do however, own my characters and this fanfic plot. If you wish to borrow them, then just ask.

:Eternal Sunshine:

Chapter 5: Confusion

Sirena was riding on Derrin's back, laying her head on his shoulder. She held a dreamy expression. They were in a feild, and it was nice and sunny. There were wild flowers everywhere. Effie picked some as she went along. Mya was leading the group, humming as she went. Tai was behind them, thinking hard and reading and sending emails. Sirena let out a content sigh. Derrin dropped her all of the sudden.

"AHH! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" she screamed, rubbing her back. Tai came out of her trance, tripping over Sirena. Derrin caught her, holding her close.

"Well, for one thing, you're heavy. For another, I think you should hold your own, like everyone else. Look, Effie is stronger than you."

Effie hopped up and down at this, "Yea, and I'm higher level!"

Derrin laughed, but Sirena continued to give him a glare, "That is no excuse. I'm lazy, and lazy people need love and attention, and I demand those now!"

"You're always loved..don't ever think your not.." Tai said absentmindedly. She righted herself and continued to walk, right past Mya, who had stopped when she heard the yelling. Mya glanced sideways at her, then at Derrin, who merely shrugged. Sirena watched Tai walk off.

"HEY! I'M NOT DONE RANTING!"

Tai kept walking. She felt someone come up and match her strides. She looked to her right a bit and saw big black boots. She smiled.

"Heyo Marin.."

"Why so spacy today?" replied a deep voice.

"Hmm...just thinking.."

Tai came to a stop, and looked up at the sky. Marin came to a stop as well.

"There's a special event coming up.." he mentioned.

Tai looked at him. Marin had long green hair, and pale red eyes. He was tall, and big. He was part of those that followed Zane.

"It's tomorrow. Thought your young friend might be interested, the rare item freak."

Tai glared and grunted, "She isn't a freak. She's a better friend than..most.."

"Than me? Don't forget I'm the one that saved you and your stupid rare bracelet."

Tai shrugged and was about to walk back to the others when he suddenly grabbed her and kissed her. Tai backed away, in shock. He smirked at her and tapped her nose with his finger.

"Heh, what? Tyler the all-knowing didn't see that one coming?"

Tai slowly shook her head. Marin glared at her.

"I suppose you're into Ryu or Gun? You never show interest in anyone, except for friendship, which, well, we want more. How about a date? A real one, in the real world?"

"No flirting with players, now, Marin. You know the rules." remark an oily voice. Remaura stepped from the portal in which she had travled from. She swept her long black hair behind her, her brown eyes alert. She winked at Tai, then grabbed Marin.

"I wasn't flirting! I was just...uhh..."

"Flirting?" asked Remaura, glaring at him, "Don't worry Tai, we'll watch him. He isn't suppose to be here anyway. We're on a job, you idiot."

Marin looked guiltily at the ground, the teleported off. Remaura turned and looked at Tai.

"So, Kitten, you've got all the guys you could ever need wrapped around your finger. What do you want now?"

Tai started to walk back, this time without being held back, "I want out of this confusion.."

Remaura looked around before teleporting off, "Don't we all.."

XzX

Derrin hugged Tai as she came back. Effie hopped on one foot, "Where'd you go? Find any new rare items!"

Tai smiled at her, "As a matter of fact, There's a rare event coming up. It's tomorrow. Just found out, Marin told me."

Effie jumped up and down, "YAY!"


	6. Dance, Moonlight, Dance!

Diclaimer: I do not own .Hack or any of it's characters or settings. I do, however, own this plot and my characters, so if you wish to use them, please ask.

:Eternal Sunshine:

Chapter 6: Dance, Moonlight, Dance!

Mya had just logged on, and no one was anywhere she could find. It was like they had just vanished. Sirena had emailed her a few minutes ago, to tell her to log on, and that they'd be 'around'. _Well, what the bloody hell does that mean, anyways! _she though quietly, and savagely.

Mya wasn't usually rude, but this was stupid. She was out in the middle of the Hitaro Dessert, because that was the last place she'd look. She wasn't about to go to the Miri snowvalley. It had a pretty name, and it was pretty, it was just pointless. Only idiots.._THAT'S IT! THAT''S WHERE THEY ARE!_

Mya jumped up and down, happy. She teleported there, right on top of Effie. Effie screamed and ran and hid behind Derrin, who was laughing. Tai wrapped her arms around Mya's neck from behind. Sirena was laughing at Effie, until Effie hit her with snow. They started chucking it at each other. Derrin quickly slipped away from them, but not unnoticed. Effie found her companion gone, and began to pout, tears forming in her eyes. Tai let Mya go, and went to pick up Effie, hugging her. Effie quit her hissy-fit, and began laughing, cause Sirena was wiping snow off her hair, which only pushed it down, tangling it up.

Sirena began to yell at Effie, but Tai cut her off, "Just be thankful it isn't your real hair and get over yourself."

Sirena pouted, "If I knew that little terror in the Real World, she wouldn't be living,"

Tai put Effie down, "And neither would you. because if you harm her, I will hurt you."

Sirena rolled her eyes and mutted under her breath. Derrin laughed and Mya joined in. Tai stuck her tongue out at Sirena.

"You're immature, Tai!" Sirena yelled before stalking off, only to run smack dab into Ryu. He merely watched her fall over, then proceeded to step over her, walking up to Tai.

"Hey, sexy!" He said, winking.

Tai rolled her eyes, and pouted, walking up, right in front of him, "Me?...Sexy? Not for you!" She pulled his hat down over his eyes and began laughing, walking back over to Mya. They all laughed at him, until he pulled his hat off and started yelling at them to stop.


End file.
